US increases sanctions on Venezuela to pressure Maduro

An AFP photo taken on October 18, 2018 shows the US Treasury Department building in Washington, DC.

The United States has imposed sanctions on four state governors in Venezuela as Washington tries to increase pressure on President Nicholas Maduro for blocking aid convoys.

The US Treasury Department said Monday it was imposing sanctions on Omar Jose Prieto, governor of the northwestern state of Zulia that borders Colombia; Ramon Alonso Carrizalez, governor of the state of Apure and a former defense minister; Jorge Luis Garcia, governor of Vargas state and former head of the army; and Rafael Alejandro Lacava, governor of Carabobo state and ally of Maduro.

“The illegitimate Maduro regime’s attempts to blockade international aid intended for the Venezuelan people are shameful,” US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.

“Treasury is targeting four state governors aligned with former President Maduro for standing in the way of severely needed humanitarian assistance and prolonging the suffering of the Venezuelan people,” he added.

The additional sanctions coincide with US Vice President Mike Pence attending a meeting of the regional Lima Group of nations in Bogota, Columbia.

Pence said at the meeting that Washington was preparing an additional $56 million in so-called humanitarian aid for Venezuela. He also called on Latin American allies to increase pressure on Maduro’s government.

A senior US administration official said Sunday that Pence will announce “concrete steps” and “clear actions” against Venezuela at the Lima Group meeting.

The US vice president also plans to meet with Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido.

Guaido, 35, who is also the head of Venezuela’s defunct National Assembly, plunged the country into political chaos on January 23, when he proclaimed himself as the “interim president” of Venezuela.

US President Donald Trump and other Western leaders immediately recognized Guaido as the country’s interim president.

The Trump administration has steadily increased sanctions against officials in the Maduro government.

The latest US sanctions come after convoys of US aid were blocked at the Venezuelan border by forces loyal to embattled President Nicolas Maduro.

The so-called foreign humanitarian aid, which Maduro has denounced as a US plot to disguise an intervention in Venezuela, has now become the key focus of the standoff between the socialist leader and Guaido amid an economic crisis most significantly in the form of shortages of foodstuff and medicine.

The blockage of humanitarian aid at the Colombian border resulted in fierce clashes on February 22 between Venezuelan police and anti-government protesters who attempted to break through the barricaded Simon Bolivar Bridge to bring in the supplies.